Tight turning with 4WD on

[Farmer495]

My understanding is that the front wheels on a compact tractor are geared to run as much as 5% faster than the rear wheels. This tends to put things in a bind on hard surfaces such as pavement.
The RPM of the front wheels is much more than 5% greater than the rears but smaller diameter so MPH is within the 5% or so.

That is correct on a tractor, front axle is "overspeed" 4x4 truck is not.

 

[tjandrews]

My understanding is that the front wheels on a compact tractor are geared to run as much as 5% faster than the rear wheels. This tends to put things in a bind on hard surfaces such as pavement.
The RPM of the front wheels is much more than 5% greater than the rears but smaller diameter so MPH is within the 5% or so.

That explains why it always looks like the front wheels are slipping a little when we use our JD 4600 with the Ford 101 3-bottom plow. They are!

 

[SmallChange]

Don't try to use turning brakes if you are in 4x4, that's for sure.

I see I'm not the first to ask about this statement. But I'd like to know why, too.

The situation I do this is during snow removal, when the snow has the pavement somewhat slippery but not like glare ice. The 4WD is very helpful in getting it to move especially against a load, and seems necessary for safety sake on slopes. However, with the bucket empty and a counterweight, making tight turns tends to let the front wheels go straighter than they're aimed, especially turning up a (gentle) slope, so more turnarounds become multipoint turns. Braking on the inside fixes this. All of this is at low enough speeds that acceleration isn't an issue.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I use my turning brakes in 4wd every winter. Usually all winter long. But once we get a solid ground freeze and a layer of snow/ice on the ground, it stays there all winter. "Dry" pavement doesn't exist until spring. Not including the dirt and gravel driveways.

The turning brakes work exactly as they're designed to. They turn the tractor. Very helpful when you're clearing snow while driving over a layer of ice.